Part 5: A Forced First Date
-October 30th, 1999-
Mia was watching TV with Rowen and Kento on the second floor when Margot and Julie arrived home one Saturday afternoon. The three stared at the girls. They each carried at least three or four shopping bags full to the brim. Although Celia had taken them shopping right after they came for casual wear, the two held more clothes in their arms than Mia could imagine what to do with.
The two struggled down the hall with their packages. Behind them trailed Alex and Michelle, each carrying the same amount of bags. The four disappeared into Margot's room and shut the door. A moment later, Michelle popped back out the door and ran downstairs at a near gallop. As she came back upstairs, Serena in tow, both laden with bags and a pair of scissors, Mia couldn't handle the suspense any more. "What's all the stuff for?"
Serena smiled. "You'll see." With that she disappeared behind the door.
***
Margot and Julie surveyed the mess strewn carefully across their room. Across Margot's bed lay dresses of all colors, each with matching shoes and a couple cases of jewelry. Across one of the canopy bed's rails were hung pairs of hangers, each pair complete with a pair of pants, shirt, and blazers or sweaters. A jumble of shoes covered the floor around the bed. In the bathroom, a mass of hair things were spread out across the counter.
"Alright, here's the deal. Alex and Darien and Julie are in charge of the guys. All this stuff has to be taken over into the empty rooms across the hall and then we have to get the guys in there. Serena, Michelle and I will take the girls in here. We have to get finished by five thirty in order to get to the restaurant on time. Michelle and Alex need to get ready by that time too. So we got a lot of work to do and very little time to do it all in! So, I suggest we start with the hardest subjects first," Margot said as she surveyed the room. "That means the first one is . . ."
***
"Oh Mia, could you come here for a second and give me a hand with something in here?" Mia turned to see Margot's head pop out the door. She smiled sweetly at the girl on the couch. Mia nodded. She rose and walked over to the room.
"What do you need Margot?" Margot smiled at the girl and grabbed her wrist, yanking her into the room. Kento and Rowen stared as Mia disappeared and the door slammed shut behind her.
"I wonder what's going on in there?"
***
Mia screeched as Michelle helped hold the girl down in the chair. For such a delicate girl, Michelle was very strong. Mia's long wet hair hung down her neck and back as she tried to push out of the chair in the bathroom.
Margot smiled. "Now Mia, if you would simply hold still, I may be able to save most of your hair. But if you keep squirming, I swear the haircut is gonna look pretty weird." Mia struggled again. "Don't even think about touching my hair with those things. I wouldn't trust you with those things even if it was paper you were cutting."
Margot smiled. "I'm actually very good at this. Just trust me. And Michelle here is also amazing with hair. So just trust me. I am gonna make you look gorgeous." The scissors ducked in and Mia watched as a long strand of hair fell to the ground. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted dead away.
Margot looked at the unconscious girl and shrugged good-naturedly. "Oh well, what she doesn't know can't hurt her!" The scissors descended again.
***
Across the hall, Julie looked around. She smiled at Alex and Darien. "You two ready for this?" The two glanced at each other and grinned. This was going to be fun. Julie poked her head out the door. "Rowen, can I talk to you for a second? I have something I want to talk to you about." Rowen glanced at her in puzzlement. He got up and walked towards the room.
"Yeah Julie?" She gestured and he moved into the room. Automatically he found himself flying through the air. He landed on the floor.
As he lay recovering his breath, he heard the door click as a key turned the tumblers. He rolled over to see Julie flanked by Darien and Alex, both grinning wickedly.
"What the heck is going on?" Rowen asked.
"Rowen, I have something I need you to do. It's all very simple." She walked over and opened the closet doors to retrieve an outfit and a pair of shoes.
"What's going on Julie? What are those clothes for and why am I in here and what are Darien and Alex doing here too?" The girl smiled at Rowen's queries.
"It's all very simple, Rowen. I will tell you the answers . . . after you strip!"
"What????"
***
Down the hall, Kento heard the muffled thumps and bangs coming from the room Rowen had disappeared into. He waited for a while. After about twenty minutes, the noise stopped and then there was a muffled yelp from the room.
Kento's curiosity got the best of him.
He walked down the hall carefully and knocked on the door. There was a muffled yell and then silence prevailed. Moments later, the lock clicked and the door swung open. Julie smiled up at Kento. "Oh Kento, just who I was looking for! Come on in!"
"What's going on in there Julie? It sounds like a battlefield," Kento said as he strolled into the room. Julie was closing the door behind him when he saw Rowen. Rowen was tied down to a chair with what looked like strips of sheeting and he had a gag stuffed in his mouth.
The door clicked shut and the lock slid in place behind him. Dumbfounded, Kento watched as Julie strolled across the room and removed an outfit from the closet. She held it up.
"Here you go Kento. Be a good boy and go put these on for me!" Julie said coaxingly. Kento gaped at the clothes.
"But Julie, these aren't mine."
"Well, now they are, so you better hurry up and change. Don't make me use Darien and Alex on you. Just be nice and put the clothes on." She grinned wickedly.
***
About a half-hour after Mia had disappeared into the room across the hall, Serena popped out. She scanned the area, but no one was around. She smiled and headed upstairs for Ami's room. Ami was sitting in her large comfy chair, reading a book. Serena smiled. This would be easy.
"Oh, Ami, can you come downstairs. I think Margot was looking for you." Ami put her book down, trailing after Serena down the stairs. She knocked and the door opened, Serena slipped into the room, Ami's wrist firmly in hand so the girl had to come along too. The door closed and clicked ominously. Margot smiled a little too sweetly at Ami.
"Hi Ami! I was just looking for you. I had something I wanted you to try on for me. I found this outfit at the store and I knew it was just so you." Ami smiled puzzledly.
"Sure Margot." Margot smiled back delightedly. She gestured to the outfit on the bed. "Can you put that on, Ami? I need to go see something in Julie's room for a moment. Serena will help you." With that, Margot disappeared through the bathroom.
Ami heard Mia screech from the other room as Margot darted through the other door into Julie's room. All of a sudden she wasn't so sure anymore. She turned to Serena.
"What is going on here? Don't tell me this is just an outfit Margot saw and decided was perfect for me. Something is fishy around here." Serena smiled.
"Oh Ami, I suggest you just get undressed. Things will go easier that way."
***
Ryo was easy to track down. Whether or not he would be easy to deal with was another story. He was just coming up the stairs when Julie poked her head around the door. She smiled. Save for Rowen, this had been an easy endeavor. She crossed her fingers. Better hope that it continued as such. She smiled. "Oh, Ryo," Julie said in a singsong voice, "Can you help me change the light in here? I think I broke it, but I'm just too short to reach the light outlet."
Ryo smiled and began to amble towards the room. "How on earth did you manage to break one of the light bulbs?" Julie smiled. Ah, the damsel in distress worked every single time. She smiled at him and gave him a bewildered look. "I really don't know. One minute I flipped the switch on and then, bam!" She moved into the room ahead of Ryo. He walked in and went directly to the light switch. He flipped it up and down a few times. The light worked perfectly. Ryo turned around to see the door shut behind him and Julie was pulling something out of the closet.
"Julie, I don't get it. The light seems to work fine. What's going on? Is it the closet light?" Julie smiled. "Ryo, I must say that for the leader of the Ronin Warriors, you are surprisingly gullible. The light is fine. You will not be, however, unless you change into this outfit. Immediately." Ryo stared the girl.
"Yeah right. What the heck is going on here? I am not wearing that."
"Oh yes you are. You won't leave this room until then." Ryo snickered.
"Who's going to stop me? You and what army?" Julie gestured to the door that connected the bathrooms. "This army."
Ryo stared as the door popped open and Darien and Alex entered the room. He stared at the two of them. Alex smiled menacingly and Ryo gulped. "You play dirty Julie." She smiled sweetly at him.
"I learned from the best!"
***
The rest of the afternoon went pretty well. Raye and Lita put up little protest and Mina was happy to put on the outfit they had chosen for her. Cye and Sage were both open to the idea, especially due to the fact that with the added threat of being manhandled by Julie's helpers, they were totally willing. Pretty soon, Michelle and Alex had rejoined the group; both dressed for a night on the town. Michelle looked pretty, her hair loose and sprinkled lightly with fairy glitter. She wore a soft aqua dress that shone with silver in the light. Alex looked dashing in a blue suit with a muted gold shirt. Celia and Heather had by then joined the group to see the results of the afternoon's trials.
Cye and Sage came out first. Cye looked so adorable with his hair smoothed out and shining above his sea green eyes. In tan slacks, a white button-up shirt and a light blue blazer, he looked elegant while still keeping the air of casual that Margot and Julie had strived for in clothing choice. Sage's hair still covered one eye, despite Julie's protests. He himself was attired in olive green slacks and a white polo. Over one arm, he had draped a cardigan that was in dark violet, lavender, and green. Sage adamantly refused to wear it. Julie figured that since he had been such a good sport about the rest, she would let it slide.
Kento was only slightly behind the two, grinning his head off as he pulled a very unwilling Rowen along. Kento's outfit was simple and nice, with black pants and a white shirt topped by a nice dark orange blazer. Rowen's hair had been smoothed back and somewhat tamed. Its blue tone matched the shirt he wore under a navy sweater that matched his pants. He looked grudgingly around and tried to run one hand through his hair, but stopped as he remembered the dire threats Julie had given him if he dared mess up his now neat hair. The last to emerge was Ryo, followed by a smiling Darien. Everyone turned and stared. With his hair all smooth and shiny and his outfit, Ryo looked, well . . . pretty darn handsome. Dressed in black pants, a black blazer and a white shirt, the only things that stood out were his bright eyes and the single red rose bud Julie had pinned in the buttonhole of his lapel.
Mina was the first to emerge from the girls' rooms, smiling brightly and showing off her new outfit to the full advantage. Her hair shone as it hung down her back in a French braid. She wore a long violet tunic and a violet sarong, threaded lightly with dark blue and red. In her ears were a pair of heart shaped amethyst earrings that matched the pendant around her neck. She twirled and her skirt flared to show off the simple violet sandals she wore. She smiled and blew a kiss at the crowd. Lita followed, a little more self conscious in her off the shoulder blouse of light brown and the matching brown, light green and yellow plaid skirt. She wore flats that matched and had looped her hair up into a bun on top of her head. Around one wrist and her neck were a pair of silver and pink charm bracelets, each charm a rose like the ones she wore in her ears.
Following her, with Ami being towed along by one arm, was Raye. Her hair was pulled up high on her head, but strands escaped to frame her face. She wore a loose silver blouse and a full royal blue skirt that swished around her ankles. Ami's hair had been fixed back away from her face with glittering bobby pins and matching the fragile leaf shaped peridot jewelry around her neck, wrists and in her ears. She wore a straight dark green skirt paired with a sleeveless light green blouse. She blushed and Raye and Ami moved to stand over on one side.
Last to emerge, of course, was a loudly protesting Mia. Everyone's mouths hit the floor. Mia's long, beautiful hair had been cut. Strands now framed her face and created a pixie-style around her face. From the crown of her head, the rest of her hair fell in light curls, layered to fall in a mass of tamed curls around her shoulders and down her back, as if to frame her dress. And what a dress! The strapless red gown fit snugly all the way down to Mia's waist, where it flared slightly to create a full skirt, stopping just before her ankles. It left all of Mia's shoulders and much of her back bare. Margot and Julie smiled as they watched Ryo try to dislodge the lump now stuck in his throat, his eyes never leaving Mia's body.
In fact, it seemed that each of the Ronin Warriors had the same problem. If they had known that getting dressed up would result seeing the visions in front of them, they wouldn't have put up as much of a fight. The girls found themselves staring at the Ronin Warriors. They were never aware that the guys could look THAT good. All in all, the total effect had left everyone in awe, totally speechless and breathless.
Margot, Julie, Serena and Darien hurried the group downstairs and out into the waiting limos. With little ado, each group was on their way, with Michelle and Alex to make sure that the plan went fine. The two girls smiled as they watched the two limos roll off down the street.
"Well, now what?" asked Julie. "Celia and Heather have gone out and so that just leaves the four of us."
"Food! I need food!" Margot said, clutching her stomach as if she were going to die from starvation at any moment. "You know, with all the shopping and fussing and all that, we haven't eaten since about 8:00 this morning!!!"
Serena smiled. "You know, I think that's a great idea. Let's go grab some burgers and celebrate!"
**********
Ok, obviously, this is not the interlude. The interlude is delayed indefinitely right now, due to the fact that I'm in the middle of midterm week. So, with a take-home midterm for my education class that is five essays, all needing citations, and an Art History exam (for which I must memorize countless names and dates), plus a rewrite of a paper and an article summary and voice lessons that need practicing for and a concert . . . the list goes on, my friends. So, hopefully, when life goes back to the semi-normal routine, you will find the new interlude jammed between this chapter and the last at some point in time. Until then, I put this chapter up as appeasement! : ) Ok, cross your fingers for me and I'll update most likely sometime next week after my birthday! ~DestinyBabe
